How to choose formal trousers for men

Sartorial Guy

Updated on:

Trousers
Mens trousers

Mens’ odd trousers (odd meaning that they aren’t part of a suit) fill an increasingly important role in the modern workplace. Whereas you used to be able to get away with wearing a suit everyday (and take the tie off on Friday), you now need a greater variety of outfits to suit a more casual dressing environment. At the same time, you still want to project a professional image. Luckily trouser and jacket combinations can help you achieve this aim, with the added bonus that they can also be used in non-work settings. This article will outline the key things to look for as you build your trouser wardrobe and help you harmonise it with other items of clothing.

Mid-grey flannels with brown jacket
Mid grey flannels with navy jacket
Light grey flannels

What colours are best for odd trousers?

For the office environment, the most versatile colours are going to be grey and cream / beige. The pairing of grey trousers, white shirt and a navy jacket is known as the the smart casual ‘uniform’ for men. It won’t be ostentatious but you can still look impressive if you pull together the fit, details, styling etc. You can dress it up or down depending on the occasion. For a standard everyday office outfit, mid grey trousers are an essential item. The next best option is cream, which is more suited to the summer months. This will also pair well with a navy sports jacket, although it can look a bit bland given how ubiquitous the colour scheme has become. 

Grey is the clear leader in this area as the colour for trousers and there are further variations ranging from charcoal grey to pale grey. All of these will be useful colours for you for the office. They will also allow you to create different looks depending on the choice of jacket and shirt. 

Grey fresco with a brown jacket and side adjusters
Fresco fabric
Cream trousers with a high rise and waistband

Once you’ve got grey covered, and then something like a cream, you can venture into more adventurous colours such as green and brown. These are a bit more difficult to get right. They will move you further down the formality scale but this can be useful if you want smart casual looks for drinks / dinners / outings etc. Olive green is probably the next best choice to consider. 

How to style odd trousers?

The construction of the trousers is fairly similar to suit trousers. See this article. There are a few ways we can add some informality to them, however. For example, we can add turn-ups (aka cuffs) to the bottom of the legs. We can add pleats. The waistband also has some options. A higher rise (or higher waistband) is a more elegant sartorial choice these days (without being too high). You can also have different types of fastening with side tabs / adjusters or a Gurkha style waistband. You can also have belt loops if you like wearing a belt. This also makes it a bit more casual as it breaks up the outfit. They’re a different ways to think about the width of the trousers. A slimmer fit gives a more youthful look but there is a risk of overdoing it. Try to ensure that you keep the clean lines when the trouser hangs from the seat as much as possible. This requires some width in the upper leg of the trousers so it can’t be too tight. It’s also important to keep in mind the types of jackets you will wear with the trousers. Try to match up how slim or roomy the jackets are with the trousers so that the whole thing harmonises. The key is to keep broadly in line with standard fits but lean moderately away from them to suit your style. 

The added complication when wearing odd trousers is that you need to pair them with an appropriate jacket. You don’t have this problem with a suit and it is something that can go wrong. The standard pairing is grey trousers with a navy jacket. You can’t go wrong with that but it’s nice to be able to mix it up and create new outfits. Brown and green are useful jacket colours as they will work with grey and cream coloured trousers. Refer to our article here on jackets for more ideas. They key is to makes sure that the colours aren’t too similar as it risk looking like a bad suit. That’s why grey sports jackets have limited use. You also don’t want the colours to be too contrasting. For example, avoid cream trousers and a dark blue jacket. Or conversely charcoal trousers and a cream jacket. These can work but they will be more showy and not really suitable for the office. 

What fabric for odd trousers?

One of the key points that we try to impress on men is that odd jackets and trousers need to have something that makes them not look like the orphaned half of a suit. Suit fabrics are often smooth and plain so we want to avoid that as much as possible. This isn’t as important with the trousers compared to the jacket but it still makes a difference if we use a fabric that has a bit more texture than a typical worsted wool. 

We would suggest that flannel is an excellent choice for cold weather and fresco is the equivalent for warm weather. With trousers, an important factor is the body of the fabric, which will determine how well the trousers drape and how well they hold a crease. This is why lightweight linens can be tricky as they tend to ‘bag’ around the knees after a while. As well as the rumpling of linen, this doesn’t give a professional look (which may be the aim) so it is best avoided for our formal odd trousers.

The advantage of flannel is that it has lovely texture and warmth and also drapes nicely. It will go with a variety of sports jackets in winter months, as well as knitwear and outerwear. Fresco, a ‘high twist’ fabric, fulfils a similar function in the summer. It has a slightly ‘scratchy’ texture as it is open weave. This allows air to flow through which will keep you cooler. It has quite a stiff feel which means that it holds its shape well throughout the day. It will pair well with silk / wool / linen blend jackets for smart casual looks. 

Other fabrics that are worth considering are:

  • Wools: these can be in various weights, but it is better to go for something 12oz and above in general. Trousers are worn more than jackets so they can start to wear through after a while if the fabric is too lightweight. The weave can also help differentiate it from part of a suit as well. For example, a cavalry twill weave will be more dense so it makes for a good trouser fabric. 
  • Cotton: this goes down the formality scale a bit compared to wool but, if done right, can make an elegant smart casual trouser for the office. The typical washed chinos that you buy ready-to-wear aren’t going to make a good semi-formal option. They can be good for other outfits, but you are unlikely to be able to wear a jacket with them. However, we can get more tailored versions of cotton trousers that work well with more casual sports jackets. 
  • Linen: particularly for the summer. However, this will definitely be at the more casual end of the scale, regardless of how smart the styling and construction is. You wouldn’t want to wear it for a formal meeting, but on more casual days it can work. It can also pair with casual tops such as safari jackets. 
Cream cotton trousers
Brown cotton trousers
Beige cotton trousers

Key tips for mens’ trousers:

  • For formal options, go for a mid grey, as well as charcoal or pale grey. Then cream or beige will be versatile choices. 
  • Styling is similar to suit trousers. We don’t want anything too conspicuous. They shook be subtly elegant, driven by the fit and fabric mainly
  • Makes sure that the length is correct and they aren’t too slim fitting.
  • Fresco is a good starting point for a summer odd trouser and flannel is for the winter. 
  • Don’t go for too light a weight. Above 12oz will give you decent drape and longevity. 

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